Rules and Operating PracticesThe KBARA By-Laws and Standing Rules are hereby available for your inspection. Motions made and passed in KBARA meetings are not available on-line.

Since
KBARA is part of the Evergreen Intertie, it is suggested that users of
the repeaters adopt these operating practices as standard procedure.

Based on The Evergreen Intertie Operating Instructions and Codes
August, 2002

Repeater Traffic Priorities

Emergency Traffic: protection against the immediate loss of life, bodily injury or imminent damage to property.

Priority Traffic: urgent matters, if not handled in a timely manner,
that may become an emergency in nature, or other traffic that falls
below Emergency Traffic but above Routine Traffic.

System Testing and Maintenance: the repeater is maintained by
volunteers who have regular jobs just like you. Sometimes maintenance
must take place at a time that may inconvenience operators. Remember,
this is amateur radio, not a public utility.

Public Service and Scheduled Nets : these operations are time driven
and need to take place during the scheduled time of the event or the
scheduled net time.

General Use: last, least, and only if other traffic is not in occurance.

General Rules of Operation

Control Operators : Control Operators are amateur radio operators
designated by the owner/operator of the repeater to control its
operation. This includes FCC Rule enforcement and rules established by
the owner/operator. Let control operators handle interference problems
and repeater rule enforcement. Control operators do have the authority
and responsibility to alter the rules of operation to meet temporary
requirements.

Interference

Do not acknowledge transmissions from unlicensed stations causing interference.

Do not discuss interference on the radio. Discussing interference only encourages those who desire to cause problems to others.

Do not discuss problems of the Intertie on other repeaters. We do not
want their problems on our repeater, so we should not take our problems
to their repeater.

Daily Operations

Follow all applicable FCC Rules. Be a courteous operator. Lead others
by example. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Listen to see
if there is an ongoing QSO before making a call.

Identify yourself with
your call sign at the beginning of your transmission and then as
required by the FCC. Until a station identifies itself, control
operators will consider the station an unlicensed station. Be proud of
your call sign; use it.

Use your call sign to enter an ongoing QSO or if you need to make a
contact and are unable to wait until the QSO is complete. Do NOT break
into an ongoing QSO unless you really need to or have something to add.
Interrupting is no more polite on the air than it is in person.

The word BREAK indicates emergency or priority traffic. Relinquish the
frequency immediately. Failure to comply may lead to you losing your
repeater privileges.

Wait until you hear the courtesy tone before transmitting. This allows
the repeater timer to reset and not cut you off in the middle of a
transmission.

Keep QSOs short! Due to the large number of users, it is necessary to
have this system operate on the short contact, not rag chew type
operation. Do not tie up the Intertie with a local QSO. Take the
repeater off the link or move to another repeater or just move to a
simplex frequency.

Refrain from using "CB Lingo". We are Amateur Radio Operators and
should be proud that we have earned the privilege to transmit on
amateur bands. Amateurs have created their own lingo: 73, 88, handle
(yes, handle is ham lingo), and others. Listen to some mature hams (not
necessarily the ones you hear talking all the time) and emulate them.
Mature hams should offer to be an "Elmer" (another ham term) to new
hams. Direct them down the path to good operating practices.